Review and photos by Faelrin, edited by Suspsy
Back in December 2017, the first trailer for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was released and fan favorite Carnotaurus was there in all its glory . . . only to get wrecked by the other fan favorite from this franchise, the Tyrannosaurus rex. Regardless of how I felt about that particular moment, I eagerly anticipated the possibility of a toy of this creature. Eventually came Toy Fair and all my hoping finally paid off. There it was, a beautiful rendition of the creature seen in the trailer, holding up pretty well in regards to both film and scientific accuracy.
This Carnotaurus is part of the “Action Attack” assortment of JWFK figures. It follows the design of the creature seen in the trailer, as well as the maquette of it, pretty closely. The body is of a brick red coloring, with dark purple markings on the back from head to tail. The belly, neck, hands, and lower jaw are a white color. The eyes are pretty interesting, perhaps even demonic-looking, being solid black except for the tiny red slit-like pupils on them. The mouth and teeth are also painted in typical pink and yellow colors. The toy measures in at about 14 inches/35cm long and 7 inches/18cm tall.
The sculpt of this creature is really nice, with lots of finely sculpted scales and pretty solid proportions. What is also interesting is that at both ends of the body are jagged lines, instead of typically straight seam lines. This helps them blend into the neck and tail areas better. The toy has articulation at the legs, arms, and even the tail, which is on a ball joint. The toy’s action feature is pretty realistic (and fun). When the button on the back is pressed, the Carnotaurus‘s neck lunges forward, and depending on the speed of which the button is pressed, it might open the jaw to bite at something, or to smash its head against something.
For accuracy, this toy is pretty decent in most regards. Again, the proportions are pretty solid, with only the feet being slightly oversized. The skull is properly thin from the front, and short and deep from the side, which is something far too many Carnotaurus toys get wrong. It is shrink-wrapped around the fenestrae, though. The horns appear correctly positioned, and seem to be sculpted as if they were covered in a keratin-like structure. The tail is also properly beefed up, although a little more meat might not have hurt it, since Carnotaurus is known for having pretty big tail muscles from its large caudal ribs. The body is also depicted with lots of tiny scutes, which there is fossil evidence for, although I’m not sure to what extent the real animal had them, and how accurate the ones on this toy appear to be. The hands and arms are properly short and stubby, and have the right number of digits. However, the wrists are pronated, and the digits are not shaped or positioned correctly (with the first digit being the shortest, the third being the longest, and the fourth being perhaps a spur). The fingers are depicted with tiny claws, which Carnotaurus would have probably lacked in life. Strangely, the arms each have a fold of skin that looks like a sleeve as well.
Overall, I would have to say this is a keeper from this line, especially for a $20 US figure. It’s fun, big, and comes close in the accuracy department. It is nice to finally have a toy that does this genus some justice (as well as finally being featured in one of the films). My only complaint (which is not limited to this figure in particular) is that the seams on the belly and head of the toy could have been sealed better, as it detracts from the otherwise nice sculpting.
Available from Amazon here.
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I don’t know, it seems to me a little out of scale with the other dinosaurs from Mattel (The Super Colossal T-Rex doesn’t count, I know it).
What do you think about it?
The ball jointed tail adds so much personality to this Dino! I think Mattel needs to make it a standard feature. Also, the fluidity of the action feature and how the neck and head/jaw pieces rotate in concert is an engineering marvel. Definitely one of my favorite, if not my to favorite, toys from the Mattel line.
I had low expectations on this figure before they released it. Once I saw it in the stores and held it in my hands, I found this toy to be fun. The action chomp function is smooth and fun. Outside of the seam lines this toy rocks.
Great review!
This is definitely a stand-out figure in an already good line. The gimmick is classic and effective, and I think the sculpting and painting on this figure are among the very best in the line. Carnotaurus is definitely a favorite!
Good review!